What proof do you need to believe in a dog’s ability to feel emotion?

According to Gregory Berns, neuroscientist at Emory University, dogs are people, too. In a recent article in the New York Times, Bern’s with the help of his friend, Mark Spivak, a dog trainer, trained his dog to withstand a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan without any form of sedation. Studying emotion and perception in a anesthetized animal is little to no help, this is why the advent of wakeful animals is a major innovation in studying dog emotions. This led to the study that aids to the theory that dogs, just like humans, experience emotion.

This viral video has been the cause of many happy tears for the past few weeks. Multiple versions of the video can be found on YouTube, some accumulating over 11 million views after being posted only a couple of weeks ago.

The original video is entitled Hacindose Amigos! which shows a labrador retriever named Himalaya, winning over the friendship of a little boy with Down syndrome. Toddler, Hernan from Buenos Aires, Argentina normally shies away from physical contact and strangers. According to the Today Show, his mother explains that because of his condition he usually avoids contact; hence his initial distancing. But in this heart-warming video, the determined dog makes friends with little Hernan, who eventually embraces Himalaya after around 3 minutes.